Roddin' @ Random - RU Faster Than A Redneck?

Over the course of 24 hours, we witnessed a Camaro SS and a BMW M3 trade paint on a road course, saw grown men chase each other on 50cc dirt bikes and drive golf carts in a muddy autocross, and got shot with a paintball gun. Looking back, none of that surprises us.

We were at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina, for the taping of Speed Channel’s newest series, RU Faster Than a Redneck. The show pits some serious, American-made Pro Touring cars head to head against a whole menagerie of imports in a series of elimination races on the mile-long, seven-turn West Course of Carolina Motorsports Park. We were initially leery of the premise, because it seemed like it could very easily be more about the drama between drivers than the actual cars on the track. After all, we’ve seen enough “reality” TV to know that it’s anything but. However, after watching two days of filming, we figure there’s no reason not to make the show about the racing. How often do you get to see a ’69 Camaro on the track next to a BMW X5 M, or a Miata versus a new Challenger door-to-door on a road course?

1/11The Rednecks include drivers of late-model pony cars, Pro Touring ’60s and ’70s cars, and one sideways C10 that’s faster than it looks.

2/11

So how real is it? We’re pretty sure there was a bit of seeding for some of the early matchups, with some of the less-interesting import cars going up against some of the faster Redneck cars to eliminate them early on and get to the good stuff more quickly, but from what we can tell, most of the show really does come down to the competitors. This is no time attack, this is head-to-head racing from a rolling start on a mile-long road course. There are no “do-overs,” and the drivers definitely push their cars. We saw more than one upset come down to a driver in the lead pushing his car too hard and spinning out.

Things were entertaining off track as well. We mentioned the golf carts and the dirt bikes that the Rednecks immediately turned into a competition, but they’ll make a sport out of anything, even trash talking. The Mullet Mafia was encouraged to make the pre- and post-race face-offs as colorful as possible without having the FCC fast-rope into Speed’s corporate headquarters. We haven’t seen the show ourselves, so we can’t vouch for too much, but you can bet we’ll be tuning in.

The Year One Bandit

We got to ride shotgun in the ’78 Pontiac that Year One built as the pilot car for their Bandit Trans Am series. It’s worn several different noses, but now it’s got the ’77 front clip and screaming chicken that’s pure disco-era awesome. Underneath it’s a different story, as it uses an early version of Detroit Speed’s second-gen F-body front subframe and a first-gen F-body Quadralink rear suspension to bring the geometry into the 21st century. With the 500ci, all-aluminum, 650hp Pontiac engine dropped almost 2 inches and moved rearward 3 inches, the 3,300-pound car has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. It’s as fun to ride in as it looks.

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Know Your Redneck

Joel Vandiver // Cornelia, Georgia
'08/’09 Dodge Challenger

7/11

Cobbled together on a shoestring budget from a rolled SRT8 Challenger, a police Charger, and a factory-reject Challenger body, the former 6.1L/auto car now runs a 426 and a six-speed. The odd color is self-etching primer with clearcoat.

Lonny Childress // Bourbon, Missouri
'68 Ford Mustang

8/11

The R&D car for Gateway Performance Suspension uses Gateway’s three-link, coilovers, and Watt’s link in the rear with its strut suspension in the front. It’s got a 560hp Roush 368ci Windsor, a Keisler five-speed, and Baer brakes

Brad Granger // Alton, Illinois
'67 Chevy Camaro

9/11

Brad has owned this car since 1978. Originally an automatic, he swapped in a four-speed soon after he bought it, and now it has a Tremec six-speed, Boze wheels, Chris Alston’s chassis goodies, and an LS3 with a Magnuson 122 supercharger.

Eddie’s a police detective in Gordon County, Georgia. His Boss 302 is showroom stock except for brake fluid and pads, which are Hawk HP Plus. It’s only got 3,000 miles on the odometer because it’s mainly a track car. Factoid: the 903 on the door is Eddie’s badge number.

Brian Finch // Hermitage, Tennessee
'69 and '71 Chevy Camaros

11/11

Brian has two Camaros in the Redneck stable, both LS powered and both with a nearly perfect front/rear weight distribution. The ’71 was yellow with a black hood when it was featured in HOT ROD. Now it’s silver. It’s got Detroit Speed suspension and is just a bit faster than the ’69 thanks to the second-gen’s lower stance.